Van Roich
Van Roich was a member of the Resistance and the Admiral of Kandarin's naval forces prior to his expulsion, and was also son to the late General Iarwain Roich, and is survived by his half-sister Portia Brantome, his seven nephews, and brother Arcus Roich. Pre-Magia Caedo Early Life Van Roich was born over thirty years prior to the events of Magia Caedo, in Ardounge. His father, already having been General for two decades, was largely estranged to him. His mother, being a Countess, was mostly too busy for her son. Within the noble Roich house, Van received royal treatment and tutoring. Thrust into War At the age of ten, General Iarwain inducted his son into the Ardougne Military Training Academy, which Iarwain himself had attended in earlier years. It took Van much longer to master the art of combat, and even at his zenith, his father outclassed him a hundred times over. Van slipped into a depression upon his graduation and reception of a low rank within the Navy. General Iarwain was ashamed to have fathered such a failure, and told his son so outright. At that moment, something snapped within Van. He stormed out of the Roich household in a terrible fury, and disappeared. The Power of the Pheonix After wandering the northwest of the continent for a few years, Van had sunken to his lowest point, both emotionally and mentally. He felt his grip on reality slipping away even as the endless torrential rain poured down upon him. When all seemed lost to him at last, an unearthly light shone from the sky. A magnificent bird of fire and warmth - the Pheonix. Reaching into the dark soul of the tattered human who lay before her in awe, the Pheonix renewed Van's inner flame, and kindled his very spirit. As though life anew had come to him, Van Roich stood proudly before the Pheonix. In response, the bird of fire offered a contract. A contract which would bestow the mortal Van with the strength and power of the Pheonix itself, in exchange for his ethereal union with the bird at the end of his life, which would effectively ensure that the Pheonix's cycle of reincarnation would continue to occur for eons to come. Van wholeheartedly agreed. He felt flames pouring into his very soul, and understood immediately the way to manifest that flame into reality. Return to Ardougne And so it came to pass that Van Roich took up his gear and travelled south to Ardougne once again. Empowered with the strength of the Pheonix, he renounced his father, and rose through the ranks of the naval force more quickly than has ever been seen before or since from an officer. At the end of the first year after his return, Van Roich achieved the office of Admiral. This lofty position was to be ill-fated, however. Months after becoming Admiral, Van led an armada into the heart of the Cursed Archipelago, hoping to put a permanent end to piracy in the Four Seas. At the prow of the enemy flagship stood a haggard captain, who, unbeknownst to Van, would later become a member of the Guild of Talisman. With such fury did Admiral Roich beseige the archipelago, that he soon lost sight of the true enemy and set fire to three of his own fleet, killing everyone aboard. Upon his return to the ports of Ardougne, he was immediately stripped of his position and exiled. Magia Caedo The Resistance After his expulsion, Van Roich took for himself a fine ship, which he named the Wrath of Dawn, and set sail. He wandered the seas for some time before he received word of a resistance against something called the Guild of Talisman. Having also heard that the enemy captain in the earlier ill-fated battle had become one of its members, Van was eager to join up with this Resistance. And soon, he did. Many adventures did the ex-Admiral have with the followers of Gautier Qir and Portia Brantome. It was not until the near-end of these adventures did Van finally encounter his adversary once more, at Miscellania. Jumping from the hull of the airborne Bloodveld onto the deck of the enemy's ship, Van commenced what was to be his final battle. For hours did the Water Member and Van Roich clash, pheonix fire and brine scattering everywhere, even as the sea monster that held the ship broke through the hull and became their battleground. At the last, knowing that he could not defeat his foe, Van opted for a desperate move. With the full power of the Pheonix's might, Van cloaked himself in a torrent of flame and lunged with his hand towards the Water Member's chest, impaling him and ripping the Water Orb from his body. The two warriors fell from the sea-monster's head into the water below. So passed Van Roich, a truly noble warrior until the very end. His spirit rests with the Pheonix.